In his curatorial proposal for the 36th Bienal de São Paulo, Prof. Dr. Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung asks: How can we rethink humanity as a verb, as a living practice in a time that calls for action of many kinds? Ndikung, who is Chief Curator of the Bienal and Director and Chief Curator of Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin, joined ICI, the PhD Program in Art History, and the James Gallery at CUNY Graduate Center on May 14 for an in-depth conversation as part of our Curator’s Perspective series of public discussions featuring preeminent national and international curators. Ndikung shared insights into the methodologies and practices that structure the Bienal, titled Not All Travellers Walk Roads – Of Humanity as Practice (which opened in September 2025).
In this talk, he explores the ideas that structure his curatorial vision for Not All Travellers Walk Roads: the potential of humanity as a methodology and practice that can address the overlapping environmental, economic, and social crises we face. He draws inspiration from a global array of poets and thinkers, artists, and cultural practices, all of which challenge conventional narratives and invite viewers to engage with the urgency of the task at hand: reimagining how we coexist. The discussion also touched on the global Invocations program, a series of collaborative events that took place in cities around the world between November 2024 and April 2025 to precede the Bienal and deepen our understanding of shared humanity.
A version of the video with ASL intepretation is available here.
